Transform Camp
Our most intensive immersive board-and-train, built for severe behavior cases that need the deepest rehabilitation.
Dog Behavior Solutions
Stop the Chase Before Someone Gets Hurt
Chasing cars, bikes, and joggers is dangerous for your dog and everyone around them. Partners Dogs helps you manage the trigger safely and rebuild focus and impulse control.
Behavior severity
SevereWhat you may be seeing
- Fixating and lunging toward cars, bikes, or runners
- Very hard to interrupt once locked onto motion
- Straining and pulling toward moving traffic on walks
- Ignoring known cues the moment a trigger appears
- Building arousal at the sight or sound of traffic
Seek help now after any near miss with traffic, if your dog has escaped and chased, or if breaking up a chase has led to a redirected bite. Keep your dog leashed and away from roads until you have a plan.
Understanding the behavior
What is chasing cars, bikes, and joggers?
Chasing fast moving cars, bikes, and runners is driven by motion, prey drive, and arousal, and it is one of the more dangerous behaviors a dog can have. A chase near a road puts your dog, drivers, and pedestrians at real risk, so safety leads the plan.
Management comes first. Keep your dog on a secure leash near roads, avoid known triggers while you build skills, and never rely on an untrained dog to hold themselves back off leash near traffic. From there we assess the dog, then use controlled exposure, impulse control, and a reliable recall so your dog can look to you instead of locking onto motion.
Severe cases receive an in-person assessment before program placement. Many dogs improve a great deal, and for some, careful management around traffic remains part of daily life. We are honest about what each dog can realistically achieve.
Partners Dogs has trained Arizona dogs through every kind of chasing cars, bikes, and joggers case since 1997, at our Scottsdale and Cave Creek facilities. Lifetime trainer support is included with every board-and-train program.
The transformation
Before and after training
Drag the slider to see the change our programs make for a dog with chasing cars, bikes, and joggers. Same dog, same home, real outcome.
70,000+Dogs Trained
28+Years Experience
4.8★Average Rating
2Arizona Campuses
Recommended path · Severe severity
The right program for chasing cars, bikes, and joggers
Based on how chasing cars, bikes, and joggers typically presents, here is where we would start. Not sure which fits? Take the PD360 assessment for a personalized recommendation.
Private Lessons
One-on-one work at our facility or your home, ideal for transferring skills and handling triggers in real environments.
The process
How it works
Assessment and check-in
- We verify vaccination records and complete pre-check-in forms.
- Your dog receives a full behavioral assessment.
- We set goals and build a personalized training plan.
- You meet the primary trainer and tour the facility.
Training and progress reports
- Multiple active training sessions every day.
- Controlled exposure and desensitization to triggers.
- Immersive socialization in a managed environment.
- Regular progress reports with photos and video.
Transition and follow-up
- Private lessons that transfer the training to you.
- Pet Parenting group classes for ongoing support.
- Access to our full Pet Parent Guide.
- Weeks of follow-up so the change lasts at home.
Not sure which program
Get a recommendation in minutes
Take our quick PD360 assessment for a personalized recommendation, or talk to a trainer who has seen chasing cars, bikes, and joggers many times before.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What should I do right after my dog chases something near traffic?
Seek help immediately after any near miss with traffic, if your dog has escaped and chased, or if breaking up a chase led to a redirected bite. Keep your dog leashed and away from roads until you have a plan in place, since even one more rehearsal near a road raises the risk for your dog, drivers, and pedestrians.
What program is recommended for a dog that chases cars or bikes, and what does it cost?
Because chasing traffic is a severe safety risk, we recommend Transform Camp, our most intensive immersive board-and-train ($8,929, discounted with membership), built for cases that need the deepest rehabilitation. Private Lessons are the alternative for transferring skills in your real environment. The $199 PD360 Assessment, credited toward enrollment in your recommended camp or membership (not toward à la carte bookings or general reservations), is required before program placement.
How long does it take to fix a dog that chases cars or bikes?
Chasing is a severe-severity behavior, so it starts with an in-person assessment before any group or exposure work. Many dogs improve a great deal through Transform Camp's 4-week immersive program, but because the safety stakes are high, careful management around traffic can remain part of daily life for some dogs even after training.
How do I stop my dog from chasing cars, bikes, and joggers?
Safety comes first: a secure leash near roads and avoiding known triggers while skills are built, since no untrained dog should be trusted off leash near traffic. From there, training uses controlled exposure, impulse control work, and a reliable recall so your dog learns to look to you instead of locking onto motion.
Why does my dog chase cars, bikes, and joggers?
Chasing fast-moving cars, bikes, and runners is driven by motion, prey drive, and arousal, not disobedience. Once a dog locks onto motion, the sight and speed of the trigger can override recall and other known cues almost instantly, which is what makes it one of the more dangerous behaviors a dog can have near traffic.
Why does my dog chase squirrels, rabbits, and bikes?
Prey drive is hard-wired. Your dog is not misbehaving. They are running ancient software that selected for catching moving things. The drive lives somewhere on a spectrum from low (won't even notice a squirrel) to extreme (drops everything to chase, cannot self-interrupt).
Breed matters. Sighthounds, terriers, herding breeds, and many sporting breeds were selected for prey drive over centuries. Trying to eliminate it entirely is fighting biology. The right framework is:
- Channel it where possible. Flirt poles, structured fetch, sports like lure coursing or dock diving give the drive a legitimate outlet.
- Manage where necessary. Long lines on hikes, secure fencing, off-leash only where the recall holds.
- Train an override. A bulletproof recall and a strong “leave it” that can interrupt the chase before it commits.
In Arizona, prey drive is also a safety issue. Rattlesnakes, javelinas, and coyotes are real threats on Scottsdale and Cave Creek trails. A dog with uncontrollable prey drive cannot safely go off-leash in the desert. We address this in Behavior Camp.
Related behaviors
Dogs with chasing cars, bikes, and joggers often show these patterns too. Explore the behaviors below. We treat them all.
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Ready for the next step
Talk to a trainer now
Every dog and household is different. Get a real conversation with a Partners Dogs trainer who has treated chasing cars, bikes, and joggers for more than 28 years. We outline your options so you can make the call that is right for your family.